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Ankiote
The Ankoite (暗黒·射手, literally meaning Dark Archers), alternatively referred to as the Unfortunate Heretics and the Shadow Balancers, were a distinctive and reclusive group of and Quincy that had somehow obtained both Quincy and Shinigami powers through centuries of selective breeding and isolation. Overview The Ankoite were quite similar to the and , as they were Shingami/Quincy who managed to obtain Quincy/Shinigami attributes and abilities but were made Human as a result. Much like their Visored Counterparts, the Ankoite were similarly thought to be "tainted" by Soul Society and the Quincy respectively and were typically looked down upon, as they had practically committed the ultimate taboo by being an offspring of completely opposite beings and were usually seen as heretics. This type of aversion ultimately caused them to only assist from behind the scenes and not on the frontlines, unless it was severe enough to warrant a call of aide. The Ankoite appeared to be completely Human, unable to told apart from Quincy and Shinigami alike until they start to use their powers to show their distinction. For a Shinigami-born Ankoite to gain access to their Quincy powers, the user dons a Quincy cross and for a Quincy-born Ankoite to gain access to their Shinigami abilities, they wil draw their zanpakuto from its sheath. This allows them to augment their original abilities with that of their secondary powers. Upon doing so, the Ankoite's spiritual energy likewise changes into a dual signature of both Quincy and Shinigami, akin to the Vizards. While considered as oddities and heretics, they were not immediately deemed an enemy by Soul Society, as they believed them to be quite valuable and the fact that each Ankoite were usually on the level of Lieutenant-level Shinigami and possessed the ability to help with the flow of souls or destroy it. It has been said that if one makes an ally of an Ankoite, they will have an ally for life, but if they make an enemy of these elusive individuals, life will become much shorter for the foe in question. Biology and Appearance The Ankoite were a secretive and reclusive group of Shingami/Quincy-Humans that currently reside in the World of the Living, living in parts of Western Europe and East Asia. Every Ankoite were spiritually aware, able to interact with all aspects of the supernatural around them and easily control and manipulate the bonds of reiryoku to whatever they desired. Due to being descendants of a people who intermingled the bloodlines of Shinigami and Quincy after countless generations, an Ankoite's body possessed both attributes normally possessed by the two. However, they were unknowingly rendered Human, possibly as a result of an unknown incompatibility. The spiritual signature of the Ankoite was described as a dark and brooding presence, but it also had a short positive light hidden deep inside. Society and Culture Culture Technology History Origins The majority of the Ankoites were the descendants of the Hajime Faction, a somewhat large group of like-minded Shinigami who disagreed with the Gotei 13's oppressive declaration of genocide against the Quincy. During the early stages of the Genocide, the Hajime Faction chose to cut all ties with and would later abandon their beloved homeland for the , opting to lend their aid to the already weakened Quincy. But due to years of constant strife with the Shinigami and an ingrained distrust within their psyche, the Hajime Faction was met with a large amount of resistance in the beginning, but were welcomed by the Quincy nonetheless. During a surprise Shinigami raid, a significant portion of the Hajime Faction had been killed, with little to no casualties for the Quincy. It was through this act of sacrifice that the Quincy's opinion of them would significantly change for the better. Their relationship only managed to deepen even further after the Heir to the Hajime Faction had come to fall in love and marry with a Quincy Royal. Decades passed and the remaining Shinigami of the Hajime Faction had seemingly integrated themselves with the Quincy, even though their numbers continued to dwindle after numerous engagements and faulty strategies had devastated them. After years of attrition warfare and constant engagements with the Shinigami, the Hajime Faction had come to realization that the best course of action for the Quincy's survival was to flee. Blinded by their pride and arrogance, the majority of the Quincy chose to reject the proposal and continue on with their futile resistance. But before the Hajime Faction could convince the Quincy Elders to change their minds or draft another proposal, they were caught in a surprise raid. Seeing this as a sign, the Leader of the Hajime Faction decided gathered his people, their families, and followers and use the ensuing confusion of the raid to make a mass exodus to parts unknown. Unfortunately, the Leader and several of his closest advisers were slain in battle, leaving the Heir to take up the mantle of leadership and guide them away from the chaos. The group later found out that if they chose to stay any longer, the majority of them would have been exterminated along with the rest of their people. The apparent survivors of the Genocide later became the , who sought retribution and would invade in the 21st Century while the Hajime Faction became something else. Any knowledge of the Shinigami and the leaving of several groups of like-minded Quincy during the Raid had been seemingly erased from Quincy History, apparently forgotten by the annuls of time. Upon their exit, the Hajime Faction once again abandoned their affiliations and started to call themselves as the Ankoite as a whole. With the worst behind them, the Hajime Faction became a nomadic people for a time, going from land to land before eventually finding residence in the confines of Western Europe. Having a fear of being found out by the Shinigami, the Hajime Faction constantly hid themselves from prying eyes, typically isolating themselves from Society and the World as a whole. They became incredibly secretive and wary of outsiders, only taking them in from time to time to increase their numbers. Coincidentally, the bloodlines of the Shinigami and Quincy happened to intermingle with each other after each subsequent generation, eventually having no distinction between each other in the future. Soon afterwards, newfound and uncanny abilities started to manifest themselves amongst the various offspring of their people, much to their chagrin and surprise. Spurred on by the prospect of "evolution", many of them attempted to develop and research the abilities, hoping to discover its limitations. It was this event where they realized their ability to purify and destroy a soul, depending on the attributes they had manifested. The Ankoite decided to take it upon themselves to act as a sort of "Balancers", reluctantly helping the Shinigami (the feeling was not mutual however) in the shadows by preserving the natural flow of souls in and out of the world when they were unable to. Sometime in the distant past, several groups of the Ankoite attempted to rebel against the Leadership, citing that they isolated themselves far to long and were easily susceptible to extermination if discovered by the Shinigami or any hostile force that happened to come across them. The conflict raged on for a short period of time until the Ankoite were able to regather themselves and crush the opposition. Although a failure, the rebellion did inspire them to make some reforms, choosing to lessen the restrictions and promptly ending their age old isolation. In the ensuing confusion, several families of Ankoite chose to abandon their heritage and managed to flee to other parts of the world, easily integrating themselves into society once again. As such, it shouldn't be a surprise to find several people with Ankoite characteristics not associated with the people themselves. Modern Day Equipment Quincy Bangle: [[Gintō|'Ginto']]: Seele Schneider: Abilities & Powers Zanpakuto: Spirit Weapon: Reishi Absorption and Manipulation: Kido: Kōkūsenkōfū (航空選考風; Japanese for "Flying Screen Method"): a method of High-speed movement utilized by the Ankoite, as well as a mixture of a Shinigami's Shunpo and a Quincy's Hirenkyaku. It is an advanced technique, allowing the user to move at high speeds by moving faster than the eye can follow by riding on the flow of reishi created below their feet. As such practitioners are often said to be skating after a successful movement. Fujimaru Namikaze cites Kōkūsenkōfū as being a superior technique to both Shunpo and Hirenkyaku, explaining that it combines both of their strengths into a single, well-rounded movement technique. *'Tonnami Jushin' (飛ん波受信; Japanese for "Flying Wave Reception"): A technique derived from the original movement ability, the Ankoite utilizes the Reishi Absorption abilities of their Quincy skill-set when they are passing by an opponent, causing a bright white light, similar to that of an apparition, to appear around the user's feet. In doing so several times, the Ankoite is able to take away the reishi that makes up an opponent's being, although the stolen reishi is not completely absorbed as it immediately converted into fuel that causes the user to start to move faster and faster. Despite the obvious advantages of this technique, if one is not careful the sudden increases in speed can start to tear apart their bodies. Instantaneous Kishi to Reishi Conversion: Body: Enhanced Durability: Additional Information and Shinigami Despite Soul Society's known animosity of the Ankoite, they did not bear ill will towards their distant cousins. In fact, many of the Ankoite preferred to not interact with the Shinigami at all, let alone engage with them in combat. Instead, they remained wary of them and typically kept their distance, only opening up to the ones the Ankoite genuinely trusted and accepted within their inner circles. Rather than continue the path of destruction originally promoted by their other distant cousins, the Quincy, the Ankoite chose to follow the Shinigami's footsteps and became proxy preservers when the Soul Reapers weren't present to do so. Through efforts headed by several of the Gotei 13 Captains, namely Madoka Mizuki, the Shinigami attempted to rebuild and strengthen the strained relationship their people had for each other. They hoped to mitigate the centuries of mistrust and work for the greater good but as of now, the movement had been met with heavy resistance by the more conservative and traditional Shinigami and Ankoite, letting their distaste for each other get the better of them. Relationships Acquiring Powers Weaknesses List of This list pertains to anyone affiliated and related with the Ankoite. † = Deceased Gallery Trivia Behind the Scenes *Credit goes to Illuminate Void for some of the article's layout and structure.